Scottish Executive

Development

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty's Government regarding the importance of European funding to the south of Scotland for infrastructure support.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive negotiated the current South of Scotland Objective 2 programme with the European Commission and has supported a number of large infrastructure projects such as the Crichton in Dumfries and the Ettrick Mill in Selkirk.

  The Executive is in regular contact with Her Majesty’s Government on regional policy issues which impact on Scotland.

Development

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the proposals of the Department of Trade and Industry on European structural funding and regional policy and their impact on the south of Scotland economy and, in particular, whether a ring-fenced funding policy for the area would be appropriate given the economic situation there.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive welcomes the UK Government’s consultation on A Modern Regional Policy for the United Kingdom and its commitment to regional policy. The Scottish Executive also welcomes the guarantee that Scotland would not lose out financially under the proposed EU Framework for devolved regional policy.

  Structural funds have brought major benefits to Scotland but the Scottish Executive acknowledges that, following enlargement, the larger part of European regional development funding will go to the new member states after the current structural funds programmes cease at the end of 2006. However, regional disparities will continue to exist and these need to be recognised and addressed. This is one of the key principles of the response that I sent on behalf of the Scottish European Structural Funds Forum to the Department of Trade and Industry on the UK Government consultation. This response is available on the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/esf.

Development

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty's Government to promote a regional development framework in the context of European development policy.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on regional policy issues which impact on Scotland, such as structural funds and regional selective assistance.

  With regard to the UK Government consultation on A Modern Regional Policy for the United Kingdom and the "EU Framework" proposed in that document, I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-1013 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search..

Digital Technology

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new areas have gained access to broadband technology facilities over the last year, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information requested, broken down by parliamentary constituency, is not held centrally. The latest available figures for overall access to broadband technology facilities show that, at the end of March 2003, 57% of the Scottish population had access to broadband services. This represents an increase of 7% on the previous financial year. However, these figures do not include access to broadband via satellite, which is available to virtually all areas of Scotland.

Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce proposals for the training of additional teachers in mathematics and English in order to reduce class sizes in these subjects to 20 in S1 and S2.

Peter Peacock: Discussions will be held with education authorities as to their requirements for additional teachers. Intakes to teacher training courses are a matter for the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council. The Scottish Executive offers advice to the council on the overall number of newly trained teachers and that advice will take account of additional requirements arising out of the Partnership Agreement.

Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on what basis the Minister for Education and Young People decided which the subjects are where attainment is most important, as referred to in its news release SEED244/2003 of 25 June 2003.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive’s response to the national debate "Educating for Excellence" emphasised our commitment to better standards of literacy and numeracy and to make the best use of specialist teachers in both primary and secondary. Those commitments are reflected in the Partnership Agreement. We are also committed to increase the number of visiting specialists in primary schools. Discussions will be held with education authorities as to the subjects in which a visiting specialist would be most helpful.

Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what form annual progress plans, as referred to in  A Partnership for a Better Scotland , will take and how such plans will differ from annual reports.

Euan Robson: Work is under way to improve reporting to parents as part of the Assessment Development Programme. The form of annual progress plans is currently under consideration and will draw on a series of consultations with groups of parents planned for autumn 2003. Annual progress plans will be closely linked to Personal Learning Plans to provide parents with a broader range of quality information on their children’s learning.

Fisheries

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring of the number of cases of sea lice infestation in the wild and farmed salmon populations it is carrying out and whether the number of cases has increased.

Allan Wilson: Wild fish populations are regularly monitored by Fisheries Trust biologists, in collaboration with Fisheries Research Services.

  On marine salmon sites, weekly sea lice counts are carried out routinely by farmers to determine the trigger levels for treatments.

  There is better control of sea lice where Area Management Agreements are in place, and sea lice burdens on both farmed and wild fish appear to be reduced in the first year of production following a synchronised fallow. The Tripartite Working Group is currently reviewing sea lice monitoring arrangements to ensure that data collected from wild and farmed populations provides an accurate assessment of local sea lice burdens.

  The Executive is committed, under the Strategic Framework for Scottish Aquaculture, to keeping under review the effectiveness of these sea lice control initiatives.

Fisheries

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce regulations to combat the spread of sea lice.

Allan Wilson: A Strategic Framework for Scottish Aquaculture commits the Executive, with other key stakeholders, to continued collaborative working to minimise the effects of sea lice.

  The Executive-chaired Tripartite Working Group is establishing voluntary Area Management Agreements which contain a range of management operations and good working practices, including measures to manage and control sea lice on farmed fish.

Fisheries

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the spread of sea lice is an important factor in determining the location of new fish farms.

Allan Wilson: The management and control of sea lice is one of a number of factors that are taken into account when considering the proposed location of a new salmon farm development.

Fisheries

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has received on the spread of sea lice as an important factor in determining the location of new fish farms.

Allan Wilson: The risks from, and management of, sea lice are issues addressed by the Environmental Impact Statements which accompany most new or modified fish farm development proposals.

Fisheries

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to concerns that the spread of sea lice will threaten wild sea trout and salmon stocks and pose a risk to the tourism industry and jobs.

Allan Wilson: The Tripartite Working Group, chaired by the Executive, is developing Area Management Agreements (AMAs) between the aquaculture industry and wild fisheries interests, across the west of Scotland. AMAs include measures for the management and control of sea lice, such as synchronous fallowing and integrated pest control programmes, within defined management areas.

Foster Care and Adoption

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it will introduce to improve procedures, services and support for adoptive and foster parents, as referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland .

Euan Robson: The Scottish Executive is currently working with partners in local authorities and the voluntary sector to take forward policies to improve procedures, services and support for adoptive and foster parents.

  The report of the first phase of our adoption policy review was published last year and made a number of recommendations to improve support to adoptive parents, in particular the establishment of an Adoption Support Network for Scotland. Following consultation on these recommendations, the Executive is considering how best to take forward these recommendations. The second phase of the adoption review, which was launched in March, will consider the legal framework for adoption and fostering, including the support for adoptive parents.

  The Executive has invited the Fostering Network to develop their proposals for improving support for foster carers and I will be meeting with them in the near future to discuss this work.

Foster Care and Adoption

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding will be set aside to improve procedures, services and support for adoptive and foster parents, as referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland .

Euan Robson: In the spending review the Executive has allocated over £20 million for 2003-04 to 2005-06 to improving outcomes for looked-after children, which will include elements to support adoptive parents and foster carers. In addition, the Executive has allocated £30 million for 2001-02 to 2003-04 to improving family placements, including foster care.

Health

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what post-marketing research is available on the efficacy of, and any adverse reactions to, ReFacto, a synthetic Factor VIII product.

Mr Tom McCabe: Wyeth Pharmaceuticals are currently completing post-marketing studies for ReFacto. As with all new medicines, the safety of ReFacto is also routinely monitored by the Medicines and Healthcare products Agency, the Committee on Safety of Medicines and by European regulatory authorities.

  This is a complex matter and I will supply you with a separate written explanation and place a copy of the letter in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

Nature Reserves

Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken in response to representations made in January 2003 on the condition of Glen Diomhan National Nature Reserve on the Isle of Arran.

Allan Wilson: The designation and on-going monitoring of the condition of National Nature Reserves is a matter for Scottish Natural Heritage.

Organ Retention

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what legal provisions prevent or deter hospitals retaining organs without the permission of next of their kin in hospitals.

Malcolm Chisholm: The current legislation relating to hospital post-mortem examinations is the Human Tissue Act 1961 which provides for the use of parts of bodies of deceased persons for therapeutic purposes and purposes of medical education and research and with respect to the circumstances in which post-mortem examinations may be carried out.

  In terms of the 1961 act, two different sets of circumstances need to be considered. Section 1(1) of the act provides: "If any person, either in writing at any time or orally in the presence of two or more witnesses during his last illness, has expressed a request for his body or any specified part be used after his death for therapeutic purposes or for purposes of medical education or research, the person lawfully in possession of his body after his death may, unless he has reason to believe that the request was subsequently withdrawn, authorise the removal from the body of any part or, as the case may be, the specified part, for use in accordance with the request".

  Section 1(2)(a) of the 1961 act provides that the person lawfully in possession of the body can authorise the removal of any part of the body for the purposes of medical education or research if, after reasonable inquiry, he has no reason to believe that the deceased had expressed an objection to the body being so dealt with after death, and had not withdrawn that objection.

  The 1961 act is generally regarded as unsatisfactory, and the Executive has accepted the recommendation from the Review Group on Retention of Organs at Post-Mortem that it should be repealed and replaced. This will be done as soon as a suitable legislative opportunity arises.

Organ Retention

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the recommendations of the Review Group on the Retention of Organs at Post-Mortem have been implemented.

Malcolm Chisholm: The review group has produced two sets of recommendations. The first were contained in its initial report, published in January 2001. These were intended to ensure that the role of relatives, particularly parents, in the post-mortem examination process is recognised and respected. These have for the most part been, or are being, implemented.

  The second set of recommendations relates to the second phase of the review group’s work, the report on which was published in November 2001. Its remit for that phase of its work was to look at the underlying legislation and suggest reforms. These recommendations, on which the Executive consulted extensively, will be reflected in the legislation referred to in the answer given to question S2W-1207 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search..

Organ Retention

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of organs retained in hospitals was brains in each of the last 10 years and what factors lead to the proportion being what it was.

Malcolm Chisholm: In fulfilment of one of the recommendations in the first report of the Review Group on Retention of Organs at Post-Mortem, Audit Scotland carried out a validation review, published in March 2002, of the total number of organs held in trusts from 1948 to 2000 from both hospital post-mortem examinations and those instructed by the procurator fiscal. These included organs held in hospital archive/museum collections; those held awaiting instructions for disposal, and those undergoing tests to provide diagnoses. Of the 10,862 organs retained, 4,010 were brains. Many of these were held in university trusts which include specialist units such as the Institute of Neurological Sciences in Glasgow and the CJD Unit in Lothian with a particular interest in research involving brains.

  Information on the number of organs retained over the past 10 years is not held centrally.

Organ Retention

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken by the NHS and hospitals in the Greater Glasgow NHS Board area to ensure that any retained organs are given proper burials.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Cremation (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2003, which came into operation on 27 June 2003, put beyond doubt the legality of cremating body parts removed at post-mortem examination, whether that was a hospital post-mortem examination or one instructed by the procurator fiscal. These regulations are a direct response to a recommendation from the review group and are intended to address the problems which families told the review group they had been experiencing.

  Greater Glasgow NHS Board continues to meet the costs of burial or cremation of organs which relatives have asked to have returned to them.

Planning

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive who owns the site of the Queens Park development in Glasgow.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The site is owned by Glasgow City Council.

Planning

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what environmental impact assessment has been carried out in respect of the Queens Park development in Glasgow and what the results of any such assessment were.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: These are matters for Glasgow City Council as planning authority.

Planning

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the Queens Park development in Glasgow will cost.

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money is being allocated to the Queens Park development in Glasgow.

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of the funding for the Queens Park development in Glasgow is being generated under the private finance initiative or public private partnerships.

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Queens Park development in Glasgow will commence.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: This is a matter for Glasgow City Council.

Planning

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what public consultation has taken place on the Queens Park development in Glasgow.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: This is a matter for Glasgow City Council as planning authority.

Planning

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what planning, or other restrictions, currently apply to the siting and location of helipads and wind-socks and the landing and take-off of helicopters; which bodies have planning authority, or an advisory role, in respect of these matters, what powers they have, and whether it has any plans to review this situation.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Planning seeks to control physical development (for example, the erection of structures and buildings) and changes in the use of buildings and land. Sections 25 and 37(2) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 require that planning decisions be made in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. In most cases, it will be for the planning authority initially to take such decisions.

  Where a planning authority grants planning permission it is open to them to attach conditions. The Executive's policy on the use of such conditions is set out in Circular SEDD 4/1998: The Use of Conditions in Planning Permissions. A link to the circular is attached:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/about/Planning/Circular_4_1998.aspx.

  Planning policy and legislation are kept under constant review. Should changes be required in primary legislation, we will introduce a planning bill when time and resources permit.

  In order to achieve consistent standards across the whole of the UK, international negotiations, the sponsorship of the Civil Aviation Authority, safety regulation, licensing and economic regulation of airports are conducted on a UK basis. The Scottish Executive plays its part through the UK Government in influencing the formulation of policy on those particular aviation matters.

Renewable Energy

Mr Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcome has been of any discussions it has had with the Ministry of Defence regarding any objections it has to wind farm constructions in (a) the Highlands and Islands and (b) other areas in Scotland.

Lewis Macdonald: Officials continue to have discussions with the Ministry of Defence about individual projects. We believe these discussions have been useful in facilitating the necessary dialogue between the developer and the Ministry of Defence.

  In addition, we are represented on the Department of Trade and Industry-led Aviation Interests Working Group, which is working on guidelines on aviation issues for wind farm developers. The majority of wind farm projects brought forward by developers do not attract any objection from the Ministry of Defence.

Renewable Energy

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what role the development of biomass renewable energy crops has in its overall renewable energy strategy.

Lewis Macdonald: We believe that emerging renewables technologies such as biomass and marine can play a significant part in achieving Scotland’s ambitious renewables objectives. The Forum for Renewable Energy Development Scotland will be tasked with identifying measures that can be taken to establish a viable biomass industry in Scotland.

School Trips

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued to local authorities about health and safety issues on school trips.

Peter Peacock: Such guidance was issued by the Scottish Office in the form of a circular. This guidance is currently being reviewed by the Scottish Executive.

School Trips

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it gives to schools to ensure the safety of pupils on school trips.

Peter Peacock: Local authorities and other managers of schools are responsible for taking reasonable care of pupils in their charge, and it is for them to consider what support it is necessary to give to schools in that context.

School Trips

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will facilitate the establishment of a central unit to co-ordinate health and safety issues in respect of school trips that involve taking pupils abroad.

Peter Peacock: We have no plans to facilitate the establishment of such a unit. The review of guidance which is currently under way will consider how best practice can be shared, not just in respect of school trips abroad.

School Trips

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the legislative framework is for health and safety issues on school trips.

Peter Peacock: Those responsible for schools must consider their common law obligations as well as any statutory duties in respect of the health and safety of staff and pupils on school trips. There are general legislative provisions for health and safety in the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, but there may be other specific provisions applicable depending on the nature of the trip, activities being undertaken, accommodation or transport being used.

Schools

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all schools will meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in respect of access to buildings by 1 October 2004.

Peter Peacock: Part IV of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 places duties on education authorities not to discriminate against a disabled pupil in the education or associated services provided for, or offered to, pupils at the school by that body. Furthermore, education authorities must take reasonable steps to avoid disadvantage to disabled pupils. However, it does not require education authorities to remove or alter a physical feature, or to provide auxiliary aids or services. These duties not to discriminate came into force on 1 September 2002.

  Ensuring accessibility in respect of access to school buildings is one aspect of the Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils’ Educational Records) (Scotland) Act 2002. Initial accessibility strategies, prepared under the act by 1 April 2003, are now being implemented by all providers of school education. These strategies plan improvements to be made, over time, to the physical environment of the school and other places where school education is provided.

  Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, relating to Rights of Access, Facilities, Services and Premises, will commence from 1 October 2004. This will apply to any service providers using a school for purposes other than education or associated services.

Social Inclusion

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support money advice outreach services within the NHS.

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how money advice outreach services within the NHS might best be provided.

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will fund, either directly or indirectly, money advice outreach services within the NHS.

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has commissioned any research into links between money problems and health problems in deprived communities.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive supports money advice outreach services within the NHS, particularly in areas of deprivation. Local authorities, social inclusion partnerships' and other non-statutory sources including the NHS and health boards provide financial support for these local advice services, including the provision of funding to support the work of Citizens’ Advice Bureaux (CABx) to tackle health inequalities and social inclusion.

  CABx run a number of advice projects in health settings around the country, ranging from sessions in local health centres to a dedicated hospital-based CABx in Raigmore, Inverness.

  The Executive is currently consulting with the money advice sector as to how further support for money advice, as outlined in the Partnership Agreement, might best be targeted. We will look at the issues raised about the links to health, including the issue of delivery, as part of this exercise.

  The Executive has not commissioned research into the links between money problems and health problems in deprived communities.

Teachers

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how training for the additional 2,800 teachers needed to meet its target of 53,000 teachers by 2007 will be funded.

Peter Peacock: Funding for any additional teachers required by the Partnership Agreement will be delivered through the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council.

Teachers

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the discussions with education authorities, higher education institutions and the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council on the expansion of teacher training places will take place, as referred to in its news release SEED244/2003 of 25 June 2003.

Peter Peacock: Officials are in regular contact with the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council to keep them advised of future requirements for teachers and further discussions with all relevant interests will take place in the course of the summer and autumn.

Teachers

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what percentage of, probationer teachers trained in the north east received places in that region under the Teacher Induction Scheme.

Peter Peacock: Two hundred and sixty-four Aberdeen University students applied to join the Teacher Induction Scheme in August 2003. One hundred and thirty-two (50%) have been allocated either to Aberdeen City Council or Aberdeenshire Council.

  Of the other 132, 60 (23% of the total) were allocated to an authority higher on their preference list than either Aberdeen City Council or Aberdeenshire Council and 55 (21% of the total) did not indicate a preference to work with either of those authorities. The remaining 17 (6% of the total) indicated a preference to work in Aberdeen or Aberdeenshire. However, no vacancies existed for these teachers and they were allocated to other authorities on their preference lists.

Teachers

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what effect the training of additional teachers will have on the funding allocated to implement the McCrone settlement agreed with local authorities in March 2003.

Peter Peacock: We are committed to the full implementation of the agreement A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century . The training of any additional teachers arising from A Partnership for a Better Scotland will not affect the funding of that agreement.

Teachers

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applicants to the Teacher Induction Scheme have not taken up the place offered to them.

Peter Peacock: One thousand, nine hundred and ninety-five students were offered places on the Teacher Induction Scheme at the beginning of June. As at 7 July, 75 have indicated that they will not take up the places they have been offered.

  The table indicates the reasons why people will not be taking up their places.

  

 Reason for Not Taking Up Place
 Number of Students


 Withdrawn from or not completed 
  course
 34


 Deferral till 2004 scheme
 5


 Going outwith Scotland
 9


 Joining independent sector
 7


 Personal/family reasons
 7


 Other/not specified
 13

Teachers

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what new initiatives will be introduced to increase teacher numbers to 53,000 by 2007, as referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland .

Peter Peacock: The increase in teacher numbers to 53,000 by 2007 is being discussed with education authorities, the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council and universities. Any new initiatives will be announced as and when appropriate.

Tourism

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the negotiations between local authority assessors and members of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors are now complete; if so, whether hotels in Scotland have been assessed at higher valuations than hotels in England and, if so, by how much.

Tavish Scott: We understand that discussions between the Scottish Assessors' Association and members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors have now concluded. The valuation of non-domestic property for rating purposes is a matter for the Scottish Assessors' Association. Information on the rateable values assigned to hotels is not held centrally.

Voluntary Sector

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding for the Millennium Volunteers programme will be extended beyond September 2003.

Ms Margaret Curran: I have asked Volunteer Development Scotland to undertake an assessment of the effectiveness of our current strategy for volunteering, including the future of the Millennium Volunteers programme. Accordingly, funding for the programme will extend until 31 December 2003 while the review is undertaken.

Young Offenders

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how children’s organisations will be consulted on proposals to electronically tag young offenders.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive has already sent copies of the consultation document Putting Our Communities First: A Strategy for Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour  (Bib. number 28038), which includes proposals to electronically tag young offenders, to a wide range of children's organisations inviting written comments.

  We also held informal discussions with various children's organisations prior to the publication of the consultation paper, and we will have further discussions with a range of stakeholders, including children's organisations, in the course of the consultation period.

Young People

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to give direct support to the "Street Football for All" project and other similar youth projects.

Mr Frank McAveety: We have no plans to give direct support to the "Street Football for All" project. Executive funding for community learning and development is channelled mainly through local authorities. Executive funding for sports initiatives is channelled mainly through  sportscotland.

Young People

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it will allocate to youth cafés.

Mr Tom McCabe: Funding for Youth CAFEs (Community Alcohol Free Environments) is provided within resources allocated to local authorities and NHS boards but is not identified specifically by the Executive. The plans of Alcohol Action Teams will allow us to assess the current provision and future plans for such facilities.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood Project

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre copies of the six contractual notices of failure in specified areas referred to in paragraph 13 of The 2001/02 Audit of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body  by the Auditor General for Scotland.

Mr George Reid: These notices are part of the documents concerning Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd which, on legal advice, should not be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, as the documents may form part of the productions in any litigation which may follow.

Holyrood Project

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, with regard to paragraph 16 of The 2001/02 Audit of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body by the Auditor General for Scotland, what legal provision entitled the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) to withhold payment to Flour City in respect of the claims submitted for payment in July and August 2001; whether the SPCB would have been entitled to withhold payments in respect of the previous claims paid out between February and July 2001, and, if so, what the reasons were for not doing so.

Mr George Reid: Payments to Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd were withheld since the work in respect of which payment was claimed did not meet quality and delivery requirements in the contract.

Holyrood Project

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether Flour City satisfied the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) in relation to health and safety standards and whether the company breached any contractual obligations in respect of these standards.

Mr George Reid: The SPCB is not aware of any breaches of contract on health and safety grounds by Flour City Architectural Metals (UK), in relation to the MSP Building Cladding contract.

Holyrood Project

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) invited the Auditor General for Scotland, in preparing his 2001-02 audit of the SPCB and, in particular, the consideration of the Flour City contract in respect of the Holyrood building project, to interview those companies and individuals that submitted tenders for the contract and those who were associated with the contract after it was awarded; whether the SPCB will make representations to the Holyrood inquiry being conducted by Lord Fraser of Carmyllie that these companies and individuals be interviewed, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter

Mr George Reid: No. The SPCB cooperated fully with the Auditor General’s 2001-02 audit, but did not in any way attempt to lead or direct his enquiries. It will be a matter for Lord Fraser to determine what evidence he will consider and from whom. The SPCB shall fully co-operate with the inquiry being conducted by Lord Fraser.